It's time to launch our final contest of the year. We've had this one in the works for some time now: a new twist on our annual Moc Madness Tournament that will really put you builders to the test. The theme itself is a classic for Star Wars fans and a perfect way to try out the new format. Please see the full rules for the latest crazy scheme and sign up in the forum if you want to participate.

The Challenge:You will be building a series of letter-based starfighters to compete head to head in true tournament style. That's right. Not just one ship, multiple starfighters. Each is to be a small one man fighter with an enclosed cockpit. Astromechs optional. The letter must be plainly apparent from at least one view (in case any disputes arise we'll take a quick staff vote and make a ruling to keep the contest on schedule). No big deal right?

The Format:This is the new part so pay attention. We'll start with a sign up phase where you are to create a minifig pilot and submit a photo of it to this thread along with a name for him/her/it. Back-stories are optional though recommended. The minifig you submit will be your pilot throughout the tournament so they must be able to fit each ship you build, but you won't start on the ships just yet. Sign ups will be open for about two weeks or until we get 64 entries, whichever happens first. The deadline for sign ups is November 16th. Afterwards we'll randomly seed everyone into the tournament bracket, which will be unveiled on Sunday night, Nov 17th. That's where the real fun begins:

Every bracket will have a letter assigned right from the start. As soon as the brackets have been revealed you can start building your starfighters. You will have one full week to build before your first submission is due. Again, you must use your pilot submitted for the sign up phase.

Each pair will have their own thread to submit photos of their models.

The build deadlines will be 8pm Pacific time on the following Sunday night for the first round and Wednesdays for all following rounds, at which time the threads will be locked and the polls will start.

The polls will last for two days only. Winners advance to the next round.

Each new bracket will have five more days to build new ships based on a different letter. Go to step 2 and repeat.

The final round will have a winners and losers bracket as usual.

If we get a huge rush of sign ups and hit 64 before the 9th we will start the bracket play a week early. If we end up with more than 32 but less than 64 entries we will have some three way battles in the first round to balance things out. Since each of the brackets will have a letter randomly assigned at the start of the tournament, everyone will know each challenge they'll have to face before any of the polls are decided. As stated there will be five days between polls allocated as the "build phase" for each round, however, you can start working on any or all of your ships at any point if you see fit. As long as you submit the correct model to your assigned thread by each deadline it's all good. If you're still worried about the tight schedule, let me give a little perspective: back at Bothcon 2011 we had an alt model alphabet fighter contest with a one hour build phase and that went just fine... so five days with your whole collection at your disposal should be enough time. Also, both of the models in the banner took less than three days to complete, and considering how laughably slow I build this can hardly be considered a challenge at all.

The Prizes:

1st place - choice between ucs x-wing, b-wing, and r2d2

2nd place - choice between the remaining two ucs sets

3rd place - the unclaimed ucs set

Standard Contest Restrictions apply.

No more than one entry per person (that means only one pilot, of course everyone is building multiple ships).

No modified parts or cut stickers.

No unofficial elements.

No pre-existing or virtual models.

No changes allowed after the deadline.

Submission Guidelines:
Simply post your minifig sign up photos in a reply to this thread before November 16th.
You must have a forum account to enter. Entries by proxy will be not be allowed.
Do not post non-entry photos to the contest thread unless you want to be disqualified.

You must use Flickr to host your entry pictures because we rely on the built in image resizing feature for the polls. If you do not have an account you can sign up for free. Once you've uploaded your photos you will need to embed them in a reply here to submit your entry. To do so:

go to the flickr photo page for your image

click the Share button at lower right corner of the photo, it's a rectangle with an arrow swooping out of it

select the Grab the HTML/BBCode tab on menu that pops up

check the bubble next to BBCode and select Medium 500 or 640 in the field above that

click on the code in the text box to select and copy it

paste that into a reply in the forum thread on fbtb.net

do not add any more code tags

click Preview to verify that it worked, then Submit. If it didn’t work, PM Don.

Photography note: be sure to submit the best pictures possible. Color and contrast correction is recommended if necessary. The only other image enhancement allowed is replacing the background with either a solid color or simple gradient. Your photo cannot be altered in any other way. For example; no composite views, special effects, text, graphics, or scenery will be permitted. Remember, the contest is about the models – not your image manipulation prowess.

Questions? Leave them in the contest thread and we’ll answer as best we can.

--- Rull clarifications below! ---

Your sign up photo needs to be just the pilot on a basic backdrop so I can use these as identifiers in the contest bracket image. The less clutter the better. If you want to put them in a mini scene or even build a vignette to go with their backstory, that's totally fine, but just include a link to that shot (you can even start a moc showcase thread if you do make a little scene for them) here if you do and only embed a simple shot for your sign up post.

Format updated to reflect the Thanksgiving extension. Here's a list of all the deadlines to help out:

Right, here we go, my pilot for the contest. He is Jay Fourke, a Rebel Pilot impersonator. He found the outfit in a Jawa Sandcrawler-boot sale, and he thinks it's cool to hang around in bars pretending to be a hotshot pilot. In fact, he's not a very good pilot, and all the ships he flies tend to be bizarre and unorthodox shapes vaguely resembling letters of some unknown language...

Cordwyn Belcenoa. Cordwyn was raised in his Dad's garage fixing A-wing's for the Alliance. As he grew older, he started tuning up his own rides to race the guys out on the flats. Tired of working at home on the planet Bakura, Cordwyn has decided to check out what he could of the galaxy. Setting off, he's looking to win some quick cash on races. Putting together ships 'on the fly', looks don't matter: the more power, the more fun. Stick around to see what Cordwyn's upbringing at wrenchin' bricks will bring...

Former race pilot Walker Teague (Everden Vic Viper Racing), a two time quad-league champion, is currently wanted by several intergalactic law enforcement agencies for mercenary activity included but not limited to: extortion, kidnapping, blackmail, bribery, arms-smuggling, armed robbery, and assault with intent of bodily harm. He is believed to change vehicles frequently to avoid capture. Please consider him armed and extremely dangerous.

Didn't make it clear in the rules but the pilot photo should be just the pilot, so we have a clear face shot for the bracket image. I PMed 123harshaw to replace his but the other three are good. Thanks guys.

Does the minifig pilot Have to use minifig parts only? Can i incorporate battle droid parts, chickens, frogs, cats, etc w/ bionic limbs or whatever? Or even make a droid pilot a la IG-88 and 4-LOM? I wanna make something better than just an ewok on stilts.

Pokludix Zaa, 'Jedi' Knight, was a Plankanian, a humanoid species originating in the Batotu system, specifically the planet Planka.

As a rule, Plankanians never made the grade as Jedis due to their exceptionally low Force abilities, minimal midichlorian counts, slow reactions and low aptitudes for combat and spaceflight.

Additionally, their very simple facial features and disconcertingly fixed expressions made them highly unpopular in Galactic society with almost every species (Rancors and Sarlaccs being the rare exceptions) seeing them as just too plain weird and inscrutable. The Plankanians were, however, exceptionally good at just one thing: Corellian Poker.

It can only be assumed that Zaa, as a child, won his place at the Jedi Academy in a high stakes poker game. To his credit, he eventually qualified with the lowest recorded passing grade in Jedi history. It has been suggested by some that he gambled his way to those grades. (The head of the Academy at the time was well known for his penchant for games of chance).

Certainly, he was never able to build his own lightsaber, let alone wield it. One can only surmise how he was able to acquire the one shown in this official portrait.

In spite of his many disadvantages, he was sometimes of use to the Jedi Order. On the few occasions that he was able to pilot himself to his destinations without mishap, his missions were great successes, concluding always with late night "negotiations" with his targets over a card table in a smoky back room.

darth_fett wrote:Does the minifig pilot Have to use minifig parts only? Can i incorporate battle droid parts, chickens, frogs, cats, etc w/ bionic limbs or whatever? Or even make a droid pilot a la IG-88 and 4-LOM? I wanna make something better than just an ewok on stilts.

You can use non minifig parts but the pilot has to be a minifig. IG-88 and 4-LOM style droids still count. You can't just have a frog or a chicken as your pilot. Likewise, Astromechs*, mouse droids, Hutts and Rancors don't really fit either. Stick to the basic minifig form.

*And to clarify the "Astromechs optional" part of the rules, that just allows for ships like the normal X or Y-wing where it incorporates a droid. It's counted as part of the ship.

Last edited by Solo on Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:25 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Reason:subclarification about astromechs

A member of the Givin species from the planet Yag’Dhul, Je’ryk Daasmaal is a master starfighter engineer and astrogator, as is typical of his people. As a member of a species who has evolved a protective exoskeleton, he not only looks much like a humanoid skeleton, but can also survive unprotected for up to 24 hours in the vacuum of space.

Most Givin have little patience for species other than their own, but Jer’ryk has managed to make a few friends from among the varying populace of the galaxy. His human ‘best’ friend – concerned with the Givin’s lack of personal style – bought him a black uniform and cap to replace the ratty robes that Jer’ryk typically wore when piloting.

Having recently heard rumors of a shipbuilding tournament, Jer’ryk has grabbed his gun (you don’t leave home without your gun) and a bag of tools, and is currently contemplating new starfighter designs.